Vitrectomy is an eye operation which is typically associated with treatment of retina problems. In this procedure, the surgeon will remove a jelly-like fluid from inside your eye and will substitute it with a saline solution. Though this surgical procedure can treat vision problems, there can be malpractice claims due to the negligence or incompetence of the ophthalmologist. However, to sue your eye doctor, there are various essential things that you have to prove. Medical malpractice claims are technical and it is only a retina expert witness who can prove the claims. There are four essential things which you need to prove:
- That the doctor owes a duty of care to the patient
- That the doctor has violated the breach of the duty of care to the patient
- The plaintiff has suffered injuries because of the breach of the duty of care.
These are the three essential grounds that the expert witnesses will have to prove. Before explaining the role of expert witnesses in surgical malpractices, let’s get a quick idea on why Vitrectomy is done and what are the risks.
In order to see, the light has to pass reach the retina. However, numerous problems can cause deposition of fluid in the vitreous causing cloudiness or blurriness in your vision. As soon as it become cloudy, it might be difficult for the light to reach your retina, causing vision problems. The only solution to this problem is a Vitrectomy surgery. However, like any other surgical procedures, Vitrectomy is no exception. All surgeries have some kind of risk. However, the outcome of the surgery depends on how proficiency of the surgeon. Patients might face severe complexities after surgery because of the negligence of the ophthalmologist. In such instances, the patients can rightfully claim monetary damages from the surgeon. However, as mentioned above, it is not easy to prove these claims. The retina or the cataract surgery expert witness (depending on the case) will have to make a report based on the case findings. These can be either submitted to the attorney for further findings or it may be directly handed over to the court.
Some of the major problems associated with Vitrectomy are:
- Infection in the eyes
- Serious eye injuries
- Damaged blood cells in your retina
- Macular Pucker
These are some of the complications which mostly take place because of surgical errors. The doctor has to treat the patient with care during both the pre-operative and post-operative stage. The success of the surgery depends a lot on how well the doctor has given pre-operative care. This fall sunder the medical standard of care which a surgeon is bound to follow. Failure to abide by this can cause malpractice claims against the ophthalmologist.
The expert witnesses are retained by the attorneys for getting a detailed review of the case. If you are suffering from glaucoma surgical errors, you can get in touch with a glaucoma surgery expert witness for you case.